Chapter 8: Chaos Is A Myth 7...

1 Peter 2: 1-10

“Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the Word, that you may grow thereby, if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious. Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture, ‘Behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, elect, precious, and he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame.’ Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who are disobedient, ‘The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone, and, ‘A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.’ They stumble being disobedient to the Word, to which they also were appointed. But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.”

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/045e57_dfd74145449240879cbad92e9f7ed4d5/720p/mp4/file.mp4

“Ok, Cbot.” Moose says as he completes hooking her test wires up. “We’re going to run some diagnostics on you.” Cbot’s optics flicker once, processing. The soft glow reflects off the nearby crates. Before Cbot can respond, MCbot’s sunrise voice cuts through the coms with day bright.

“Course plot initiated, Captain! Qbot and Artbot are already running the long range calculations. Earth orbit insertion in… approximately 47 standard days at current drive efficiency. Shall I warm up the main engines?”

Moose gives a nod, rubbing his chin. He tilts his head watching Cbot. “Do it. And Qbot?”

“Chirp!” Qbot says over the coms.

“How’s that coffee coming?”

“Chirp, chirp!” travels back over the coms followed by the unmistakable gurgle of a coffee machine. Always ready. Always waiting. Watching. The coffee is being made. Moments later, the aroma of a fresh pot wafts through the cargo bay.

Cbot’s head tilts slightly, her sensors feeding data into the terminal with quiet beeps and clicks. Her voice, calm, quiet, tense, chimes in. “Different…. Yes. My last archived memory of Earth surface conditions shows significant atmospheric degradation, collapsed infrastructure, and elevated radiation pockets in the northern hemisphere. However-“ Cbot pauses. Her optics flash bright as she looks to Moose, “if the Captain believes the delivery of these crates is necessary, then the risk parameters are acceptable.”

Moose smiles and laughs a quiet snort and continues to read holographic readouts. “You are Earth made then. Human tech. That makes things simpler.”

Soft blue light plays across his face as lines of diagnostic data scroll past. Cbot’s optics hold steady on Moose. A faint series of clicks came from the terminal as another diagnostic cycle completes.

“Affirmative, Captain,” Cbot replies. “Core architecture and early memory engrams trace to pre-collapse Earth manufacturing. However, significant modifications have been integrated since acquisition.”

Qbot’s cheerful chirps echo as she appears through the Cargo Bay door. She balances two mugs with careful precision. One ceramic mug for Moose, steam curls up from the surface in delicate swirls. The second is a reinforced thermal unit designed for synthetics- bot coffee.

Proverbs 21: 23

“Whoever guards his mouth and tongue keeps his soul from troubles.”